Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE

   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #81  
I was fixing up some Lincoln 255 MIG welders for a friend last week. I took the air to the fans, which is always fun, making them scream. One just grenaded! Lesson Learned.

did that with one of the kids fidget spinners. Blew apart in my hand. Ouch.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #82  
Yep
Never spin something with compressed air.

Wonder what the velocity of compressed air squirting out a nozzle is?
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #83  
The same friend with the welders, told how he put a small bearing on his finger, working in his Dads shop and hit it with compressed air. It made him too uncomfortable to recount the incident, but I am guessing he got hurt.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #84  
The reason parts are expensive is because its very labor intensive. Each item has to be sourced, ordered, counted, packaged by the manufacturer, then ordered, counted, binned, by the dealers stock people, then a technician needs to help you determine what you need, and retrieve it from the bin. There are A LOT of hands. You won't find anyone who disagrees that parts are too expensive, but their cost is more indicative of the process that it takes to get them to you than the value of the actual item.

And all of that is compounded by the constant model changes and new or discontinued tractors, sourced from all around the world. Think about that compared to many years ago when the same parts were used and were interchangeable for decades. That's a good reason why so many of the old Ford tractors are still in use.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #85  
And all of that is compounded by the constant model changes and new or discontinued tractors, sourced from all around the world. Think about that compared to many years ago when the same parts were used and were interchangeable for decades. That's a good reason why so many of the old Ford tractors are still in use.

Interchangeability sure helps. For instance, there are hardly any unique ball bearings. Most designers just open a book and choose one of the standard size bearings. A #62XX series bearing is exactly the same part whether it is in a 2018 Kubota or a 1954 Ford.

It takes a while for the aftermarket to catch up with cheaper parts. For 1960s muscle cars it took 20 or 30 years for the aftermarket parts to finally bring hotrod parts prices down. The trick is that the tractor has to be good enough to last that long.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #87  
They started in Worthington, Mn and now have about 20 store locations.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #88  
And all of that is compounded by the constant model changes and new or discontinued tractors, sourced from all around the world. Think about that compared to many years ago when the same parts were used and were interchangeable for decades. That's a good reason why so many of the old Ford tractors are still in use.
My theory is engineers used to be incentivized to utilize parts already in a manufacturer’s system. Today it seems their bonuses depend on the number of new part numbers they include in new models.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #89  
Interchangeability sure helps. For instance, there are hardly any unique ball bearings. Most designers just open a book and choose one of the standard size bearings. A #62XX series bearing is exactly the same part whether it is in a 2018 Kubota or a 1954 Ford.

It takes a while for the aftermarket to catch up with cheaper parts. For 1960s muscle cars it took 20 or 30 years for the aftermarket parts to finally bring hotrod parts prices down. The trick is that the tractor has to be good enough to last that long.

And equally important, built in sufficient quantities to create a demand. The days of tens or hundreds of thousands of a particular tractor model being built are mostly behind us.
 
   / Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE #90  
FWIW, I looked up my Deere 4310's fan blade... $72.40

Putting my Nomex suit on now.... :)
 

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